Monthly Archives: June 2018

FORT BENNING, Ga. (June 27, 2018) – With the precision snip of a ribbon by a drone, the 3rd Squadron, 16th Cavalry Regiment, 316th Cavalry Brigade, opened its new small unmanned aerial system (SUAS) course facility June 11.

The former convenience store at Camp Cornett will make life more convenient for students and instructors, says Sgt. 1st Class Hilario Dominguez, the lead instructor for the class.

“It gives our course a sense of permanence,” Dominguez said of the new facility.

“This building represents an incredible new opportunity to the small unmanned aerial system course,” said Barta. “For several years now it was operating in a small cramped classroom insufficient to meet program instruction requirements. Thanks to the work many on the squadron staff, the 316th Brigade S4 shop, and the garrison Directorate of Public Works and Network Enterprise Center, we were able to turn the vacant structure into a vibrant classroom, training leaders to make the Army better.

“Unmanned aerial systems are the way the future,” continued Barta. “And this new school can grow to become the center for aerial robotics in conjunction with the Columbus community through a partnership with industry and education.”

Staff Sgt. Arturo Saucedo flew the remote-controlled quad-copter into a pair of red and white ribbons, slicing the paper in half. Precision flying is what Saucedo teaches the 10 or so students who attend each course. He tells his students to think of the small helicopters as a way to chase down armed enemy soldiers.

“Instead of chasing him through a booby hole, you just track him,” he said. “Now you have a grid of his location and you can do what you need to do.”

Instructors teach Raven and Puma fixed-wing remote-controlled drones and a variety of helicopters, including the tiny InstantEye copter, which flies as quietly as a hummingbird.

The students who pass SUAS are typically infantrymen and cavalry scouts who go back to their units to be a brigade or battalion-level master trainers, Dominguez said. Dominguez said certifying experts build trust and helps company and troop-level commanders get over the fear of losing drones because they mistrust their drone pilots’ skills.

Dominguez has expanded his course to co-train with basic trainees so they can become familiar with drones before they show up to their units. During a recent field exercise, the SUAS students showed the trainees how the drones fly and how to describe drones if they see one flying over their formation.

Capt. Sean Minton, commander of the D Company, 2nd Battalion, 58th Infantry Regiment, said his recruits learn how to fill out a seven-line report when they spot a drone and send the information to higher headquarters by radio. Drill instructors also teach the trainees how to hide from an enemy drone or disperse to avoid mass casualties from drone-directed field artillery.

The Centre seeks to create a new body of knowledge on the political and social impact of ongoing technological changes and to apply these new understandings to the guidance of policy practice. The Centre’s research is wide-ranging. Faculty, researchers, and associates explore developments across a broad spectrum of technological dimensions – including cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and robotics. Connections between our researchers and the wider world of government and industry are at the heart of our impact mission.

DroneInsurance.com was built to address the specific insurance needs of commercial drone operators. Here are a few features that set us apart from the crowd:

1.Works at the speed of business. DroneInsurance.com fits the on-demand nature of a commercial drone operator’s workflow. There’s no more waiting on certificates of insurance or claims submissions — with a few taps, pilots can get a certificate of insurance, add additional insureds, and submit a claim, all in real time.

2. Provides distinct coverage options. DroneInsurance.com offers a unique combination of continuous ground coverage along with the ability to add episodic flight coverage on-demand, for as little as a day, or as long as a year. Beyond that, we have higher limits for episodic flight liability coverage, offer physical damage coverage, and have coverage options for ground equipment and sensors.

3. Fuels industry growth. Large enterprise companies are facing a roadblock. They need to hire local drone operators, but struggle to find operators that meet their risk department’s insurance requirements. And when those local operators try to secure required coverage, they find that it’s either not provided, or they’re forced to shoulder the cost of flight coverage year-round—a cost they can’t afford. DroneInsurance.com eliminates this roadblock — opening up growth opportunities for both enterprises and local operators.

4. Eliminates radius restrictions. Unlike some other providers, the policy offered through DroneInsurance.com doesn’t limit the geographical area that can be flown during a job at the time of booking. As long as the pilot is operating in accordance with FAA regulations, if an agricultural crop consultant wants to fly one small corn field then pack up their equipment and drive down the road a few miles and set up and fly another field, they’re covered. Coverage extends to nearly everywhere in the world- allowing drone operators to fly with peace of mind no matter where their job takes them. *Subject to local law, policy terms, conditions and exclusions.

5. Designed just for drones. Some traditional carriers make “drone insurance” policies out of generic business insurance policies — which means operators aren’t often getting the drone-specific coverage they need, from advertising injury to protection for expensive sensors. Ill-fitting coverage can make running a business less efficient, reduce flexibility, and leave operators exposed to unwanted risks that non-drone insurance companies wouldn’t think to cover. DroneInsurance.com offers the best of both worlds: the strength of a well-capitalized and seasoned insurance carrier, and a policy carefully crafted to provide just the right coverage for drones and drone operators.

6. Ensures transparent billing and pricing. DroneInsurance.com allows for convenient monthly billing for annual base policies. And we provide clear pricing for daily, weekly, monthly and yearly flight liability coverage. All of which helps businesses make more informed decisions and manage cash flow more easily.

7. Covers more manufacturers. Operators want to use the right drone for each job. DroneInsurance.com helps them do that, by covering 40% more drone manufacturers than other industry participants.

8. Makes adding sensors easy. Sensors can cost more than the drone itself. To help operators protect all their key assets, DroneInsurance.com includes sensor coverage options as part of the product. Through the online dashboard, we support adding and tracking a wide variety of leading sensor systems, including LiDAR, hyperspectral, thermal, visual, and multispectral cameras.

11. Allows for seasonal use. Not all drones fly all year round. In northern states, for instance, drone operators often don’t fly in the winter. DroneInsurance.com lets operators keep drones protected in the offseason without incurring unnecessary costs.

12. Coverage related to captured video and images. Drone operators are often capturing still images and video — and publishing those comes with its own set of risks. DroneInsurance.com base policies include coverage to protect against personal and advertising injury.

*Coverage is subject to local law, policy terms, conditions and exclusions.

The Small UAV Coalition is pleased to announce that Coalition member Fresh Air Educators has launched an online preparatory safety course for aspiring Part 107 pilots at DRONEcourse.com.

Since the Part 107 regulations have come into effect, there has been a growing demand for knowledge test preparation and resources across the industry as test takers have taken note of the relative difficulty of the in-person knowledge test, most notably for first-time or new unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) operators looking to obtain a drone license.

“We’ve heard from operators of all kinds expressing the need for proper training resources to adequately prepare for the in-person test,” said Michael Drobac, executive director, Small UAV Coalition. “Fresh Air Educators has proven that their expertise in online education leads to better outcomes for learners of all types. The launch of this online course will result in UAS operators being better prepared and educated as the industry continues to see rapid expansion in the United States and abroad.”

With the launch of DRONEcourse.com, UAS operators can now access the interactive, industry-leading online study guide provided by Fresh Air Educators.

The safety course is fully narrated, complete with video and animated competency exercises based on e-learning best practices while also covering all required standards and competencies for the in-person Part 107 knowledge test.

Over the past 20 years, Fresh Air Educators has helped train more than two million outdoor enthusiasts to boat, hunt and operate off-highway vehicles. “We’ve applied our proven training and certification process for UAV pilots at DRONEcourse.com,” said Greg Gulliver, general manager, Fresh Air Educators. “Pilots can expect the same high pass rates, test scores and user ratings that our industry partners have come to expect from our courseware.”

The online safety course also offers a Practice Part 107 exam based on real FAA questions used during the in-person knowledge test.

“We share the core belief that our skies should be safe and that properly training our drone operators will ensure that both the pilots understand their capabilities and that consumers have confidence that pilots are certified, trained and properly tested,” added Kerry Moher, V.P. business development, Fresh Air Educators.

Safety and accountability across the UAS industry are critical to ensuring safe integration and unleashing the potential for increased and expanded commercial UAS operations. The Small UAV Coalition calls on the federal government to proactively establish education and training requirements for all UAS operators. Specifically, the Coalition supports online education and training programs to make these opportunities more easily accessible.

Torvol is an international drone accessories brand from Red Pimiento Europe. The idea of making drone backpacks and accessories was born 2 years ago. During this time, our dedicated team worked together with top FPV drone pilots while designing and creating the products. We design with the pilot’s needs at the heart of our product to offer the best carrying solutions to date for their demands and usage. Our products:

FPV Racing:

In FPV racing, pilots unfortunately spend more time assembling and repairing quadcopters or changing LiPo batteries and propellers than being in the air. With this knowledge, we created the PITSTOP range, bags with a dedicated drone workspace which allows for quick and effortless adjustments and modifications to quads.

Our PITSTOP line-up includes the Quad PITSTOP Backpack PRO, the crown jewel of the PITSTOP range, which can carry up to 4 quads, as well as all gear required for racing, and much more. The modular divider set gives pilots the freedom to arrange their bag to suit their requirements. A Tripod and a foldable chair can be attached to the outside. The Quad PITSTOP Backpack is a compact version of the PRO. It is able to carry 2 quads, props, tools, LiPo’s and spare parts. In addition, our FPV range includes the Quad Transmitter case, and the fire resistant LiPo Safe Pouch, allowing you to safely transport your controller and all your LiPo’s anywhere you go.

Freestyle:

Like we did for FPV racing, we looked at the two other main categories in the droning landscape. The Freestyle PITSTOP Bag, which can be used as a hand bag or a shoulder bag, is the ideal match for diehard freestylers. The bag fully unzips to create a flat and clean PITSTOP area. The Drone Day Backpack and Drone Session Backpack, smaller and lighters backpacks, complete the Torvol Freestyle lineup. They feature dedicated drone straps to carry fun drones for a flying session outdoors or at a friend’s house. Finally, the Indoor Race Pack is included in the Torvol product catalogue.

Imaging:

For Imaging enthusiasts, we designed the Drone Adventure Backpack, the best companion for drone photographers to take their gear on the go. It provides ample space for all your drone, DSLR camera, and travel necessities. It features hard-shell protection for your drone and camera gear. With the internal modular divider the interior of the bag can be arranged to hold most drone models similar to DJI Phantom. This bag easily turns from a drone daypack into a spacious and comfortable travel backpack by an expandable roll top compartment which can hold clothes, food, and other travel gear. The Drone Landing Pad allows for clean and save lift-off and landing of your imaging drone and protects it from dirt and other filth from clogging up the motors and smudging the camera lens.

Our story:

We launched our products in the beginning 2018. At the same time, we launched the very successful online Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign (122% funded). It also saw the start of our sponsorship deal with Holland’s premier FPV team, SQG Racing. In April, our very own race team, Torvol Racing, finished 4th during the Utrecht Internationals, part of the IDRA 2018 Drone Racing Series. Subsequently, the Torvol supported Droneshop.nl team grabbed the third spot in those very same finals. We are now in sponsorship negotiations with the US based team NEXXBlades Racing, one of the greatest drone racing teams in the world.

On top of all these exciting evolutions, we recently showcased all of Torvol’s products during CEBIT 2018, in Hanover DE. CEBIT is Europe’s leading Business Festival for innovation and digitization. The interest and excitement around our booth was sensational. Additionally, Walter Kort of Torvol Racing finished 3rd during the DMFV – Drone Racing Series held at CEBIT. It was also an unprecedented occasion for our team to meet up with top freestyle pilots Mr.Steele and Konasty FPV.

As for now, Torvol is growing immensely fast, and the word-of-mouth is rapidly spreading, which really excites us. To increase this positive vibe, we are opening new sales channels throughout the EU, as well as the US. Our FPV influencer and ambassador list is steadily growing. Noteworthy is the highly regarded French FPV racing professional, Pablo Sotes, a true asset within the French community for the Quad PITSTOP Backpack PRO. The rest of Europe is following suit, with ambassadors from Germany to the UK, and from the Netherlands to Spain.

Citizens across Switzerland are provided power through an immense network of power lines – totaling 250,000 kilometers (over 55,000 miles), long enough to wrap around the earth 6 times. Working behind this network is – among others – Swissgrid, the national transmission grid operator, who is tasked with not only keeping the lines online but also tying the Swiss energy grid into the larger European grid network.

With lines running along valleys and across Switzerland’s notoriously steep mountain ranges, Swissgrid, who owns 6,700 km of transmission lines, and the local network operators have a difficult task to ensure the vast network remains operational year round – especially through harsh weather conditions. Making situations more difficult is that much of the network was originally built decades earlier, with only one third of the critically important extra-high-voltage transmission lines being built after 1980 and the majority of concrete poles holding up the medium and high voltage lines erected in the 50s and 70s. Due to the networks’ aging nature, grid owners are increasingly looking to raise the frequency they inspect each individual line – surpassing legal minimum frequencies of two to five years.

As the demand for inspections increases, grid operators have turned their eyes towards their standard operations to see how new technology can increase efficiency. This becomes increasingly important as existing inspection methods require a pylon to be taken offline, costing tens of thousands of Euros per hour – and adding up to millions over the years.

The conventional method for inspecting power pylons begins with an inspector using binoculars to gain a first assessment of the tower. If a potential defect or damage is spotted, the inspector will climb the tower for a closer look. This process is both time consuming and dangerous as the inspector risks falling on each mission. In addition to the human risk – due to the requirement of synchronizing with the transcontinental grid – the operator needs to plan months in advance for the inspection so the line can be turned off and the downtime causes a network redundancy reduction. The last component that limits legacy methods to meeting new demands is that, in addition to risk to personnel and production loss, the process isn’t guaranteed – the inspection can still be delayed due to bad weather or other cancellations.

ALPIQ ENERTRANS – AERIAL GRID INSPECTIONS SPECIALIST

Working alongside Swissgrid to keep this network running is Alpiq EnerTrans, who constructs and operates power lines and switchgear systems – with a specialization on high and medium voltage lines. Starting in 2014, Alpiq established a drone services team to supplement their existing work with national and regional network owners with aerial inspections.

Working with a local power supplier, Marc Tschachtli, Head of UAV operations at Alpiq EnerTrans, and his team helped inspect 65 pylons along a 50KV line. Marc sums up his years of experience utilizing drones for grid inspections, saying “UAVs for power lines inspection offers unknown perspectives on the object and the workflow can be streamlined considerably. With an expert eye damages can be detected easily while flying each pylon on two sides from a diagonal angle.”

Despite these benefits, his team has previously been concerned about flight time and stability. With Alpiq’s previous drones, Marc and his team had to land and swap out batteries every 10 minutes. The problem was solved once his team acquired a DJI Matrice 210 RTK unit, which offers up to 24 minutes flight time with dual payloads and TB55 batteries. In addition to a prolonged flight time, the DJI M210 RTK also met Alpiq’s internal safety requirements. This flight stability is provided by its use of multiple GPS units to determine heading instead of a compass – which is easily affected near strong power lines. Marc summarizes it best, saying “the DJI M210RTK provides extremely stable flying behavior even very close to the pylon where the magnetic interference is high.”

Once Marc and his team was comfortable with the drone’s flight performance, they turned their eyes on securing the most relevant data. To do so, Marc uses the DJI Zenmuse X5S with a 45mm lens and Zenmuse Z30 in case a closer look is needed. Marc explains, “the picture quality of the DJI X5S lets us interpret the damages mid-flight and properly document them. We primarily find lighting strokes, broken insulators, crumbling concrete or rusting metal structure.”

In addition to standard visual data, Marc has started attaching the Zenmuse XT thermal camera onto the teams’ M210 RTK to help understand the thermal footprint of electrical components. This has helped the team detect anomalies or hotspots before they become larger issues.

EFFICIENCY GAINS

The Alpiq EnerTrans drone inspection team works closely with operators to ensure their aerial imagery delivers the quality of data needed. Anton Zgraggen, Head of Network Construction at Altdorf Utility Company, and his team operate their local energy network and have seen the benefits of Alpiq’s drone services. “Typically there is a limited time window for inspections of a defined section of the grid” explains Anton, “Alpiq EnerTrans was given 5 days to inspect 65 pylons and completed the work in 3 days. If we would have done the same 65 pylons in the conventional way with a line controller it would have taken 6-7 days, so it saved us 40-50% of time, let alone the increase in job safety.”

In addition to the raw efficiency and safety benefits of drone technology, Anton’s team is able to establish a detailed digital documentation of errors or defects using the data from Alpiq’s, relying in their technical expertise available. The reporting allows the Altdorf Utility Company’s team to determine, for each pylon, the level of existing damage or degradation rate. By tracking each aerial photo to the pole’s number, the grid operator is able to rapidly go from identifying damages to a detailed repair plan. The repair process still requires a portion of the grid to be taken offline, but the drone data eliminates the majority of the downtime.

REIN, an insurtech company focused on creating new insurance solutions around the emerging risks posed by robotics, mobility and online ecosystems, is announcing the launch of its first digital portal, DroneInsurance.com. It provides a smart and paperless drone insurance experience, offering dynamic policy solutions to address the unique risks, pain points and insurance needs of commercial drone operators.

DroneInsurance.com is an automated platform that lets commercial drone operators safeguard their business and self-manage coverage solutions online. For a monthly amount per drone, businesses can protect their ground operations. Then, operators can purchase flight liability coverage on-demand, for as little as a day, or as long as a year, with a range of limits.

“This product is about empowering commercial drone operators,” said Christopher Dean, CEO at REIN. “From higher liability limits for episodic flight coverage to sensors and physical damage coverage options, our product aims to solve the unmet needs in the commercial drone insurance industry. Our platform will enable the industry to grow with the dynamic and evolving drone use cases and their emerging risks.”

Underwritten through Liberty Specialty Markets, DroneInsurance.com’s offerings are now available in selected States of the United States1 via an intuitive web and mobile-ready dashboard.

“At Liberty Specialty Markets, we have a chance to match REIN’s market-leading technology, distribution system and data proficiency with innovative insurance policies to create a best-in-class solution for the drone market,” said Mike Gosselin, Chief Underwriting Officer, Liberty Specialty Markets. “Technology is rapidly changing the insurance landscape, so partnering with REIN to launch DroneInsurance.com makes perfect sense to meet this increasing demand.”

1DroneInsurance.com is now available throughout the United States except NY, NJ, KY, IL, WV and MN. Insurance services are provided by Acend Insurance Solutions, LLC (“AIS”), a licensed surplus lines producer in all 50 U.S. States. AIS operates in California under license No. 0L70741. Additional licensing information is available at DroneInsurance.com.

About DroneInsurance.com

Cutting-edge technology demands cutting-edge coverage. Powered by REIN’s insurtech platform, DroneInsurance.com replaces paperwork and complexity with data-driven automation and user control to offer on-demand insurance coverage solutions designed to address the unique risks, pain points and coverage needs of commercial drone operators. REIN was founded in 2015 and is located in Maynard, MA and Chapel Hill, NC. REIN’s wholly owned subsidiary, Acend Insurance Solutions, LLC is a licensed surplus lines producer in all 50 U.S. States and provides insurance services. For more information, visit REIN.ai and DroneInsurance.com.

MyDefence is launching PITBULL – the next generation wearable Counter UAS solution that utilizes smart jamming to defeat enemy drones. PITBULL was developed to have minimal impact on other signals while jamming, in an effort to maintain own communication. The Counter UAS jammer is a tactical solution weighing just 775 grams, designed to be worn on the uniform with the purpose of minimizing the cognitive load of dismounted soldiers, so they can focus on the mission instead.

Last month MyDefence launched the WINGMAN 103 – wearable drone detection for special operations forces – and now joined by the PITBULL, dismounted soldiers will be able to both detect and defeat enemy drones. PITBULL is plug-n-play and requires minimal training to operate. Used together with the WINGMAN detector, the entire process of detecting and defeating malicious drones can be fully automated, allowing the operator to carry on with the mission without worrying about enemy drones.

“This is a big leap in the technological advancement of active countermeasures against malicious drones. There exists an immediate demand in the Counter UAS market for wearable solutions for dismounted soldiers that does not interfere with their function in a unit. We are therefore proud to introduce the PITBULL wearable smart jammer that allow dismounted soldiers to defeat enemy drones while maintaining own communication”, says CEO of MyDefence, Christian Steinø.

Product features

The only wearable Counter UAS jammer on the market

Covers 2.4-2.5GHz, 5.2-5.8GHz and the GNSS frequency bands (other frequency bands will be covered by an active external antenna later this year)

Ultra-light form factor with a weight of only 775 grams (w/o battery)

Up to 20 hours standby battery time and 2 hours of continuous jamming

Both automated and manual jamming modes

Jamming range of 1,000 meters

Average power output is 2W

MyDefence is inviting customers to purchase the initial version of PITBULL, which features up to 20 hours standby battery time and 2 hours of active jamming. The PITBULL has an effective jamming range of 1000 meters and can be fully automated in collaboration with the WINGMAN wearable drone detector. With its rugged exterior, the PITBULL has been designed to operate in demanding environments and is the perfect companion to the WINGMAN products.

“The PITBULL drone jammer will, based on the detection signals from the WINGMAN, automatically start jamming the control signals of the detected drones. PITBULL requires no training – simply turn on the devices and you are protected against detected drones, making it ideal for dismounted soldiers, who can instead focus on their mission”, says Christian Steinø.

Weighing less than a kilogram, the PITBULL smart jammer is the ideal solution for dismounted soldiers operating in hostile environments, where enemy forces utilize commercially available drones for reconnaissance and as weapon delivery systems.

About MyDefence

MyDefence is founded by military officers with insight into military operations and advanced radio technology. We have specialized in developing sensors and effectors for military customers to mitigate the threat of malicious drones.

We nourish a culture within our corporation with a strong desire to develop revolutionary and superior technology, which protects soldiers from drone threats. By listening to our end-users and combining their learnings with our technology, we have made truly unique Counter UAS solutions.

DroneDeploy today announced that they have raised $25 million in series C funding. DroneDeploy is the largest cloud-based drone data platform with a community of 30,000 users having mapped 30 million acres in 180 countries on 400,000 job sites. The round is led by the Invenergy Future Fund, a venture capital firm focused on making technology investments into early-stage companies that make energy and industrial operations more affordable, reliable, and secure. The round is also backed by AirTree, one of the largest venture capital firms in Australia, as well as existing investors, Scale Venture Partners, Uncork Capital, Emergence Capital and AngelPad. The Series C funding round brings the total amount of equity investment raised by DroneDeploy to over $56M.

“We started DroneDeploy to make drones accessible tools to everyone, and we’ve since become the world’s largest commercial drone software platform by providing drone software that’s both easy to use, and powerful,” said Mike Winn, CEO and co-founder of DroneDeploy. “With this new funding round, we have the opportunity to work with more customers who will bring our platform to new industries, and transform workflows on every job site.”

DroneDeploy plans to use the funds to extend its position as the market leader by expanding their ecosystem of over 80 platform apps and integrations, and accelerating a series of industry-focused solutions. With increasing adoption in the Energy, Construction, and Agriculture industries, DroneDeploy plans to invest heavily in artificial intelligence to build new workflows that solve some of the toughest challenges facing companies today.

“Our investment process into this market was customer-led,” says John Tough, a Partner at the Invenergy Future Fund. “The consistent theme we heard from customers is that DroneDeploy’s product and accompanying applications help achieve significant ROI and reduce risk on the job site. We are excited about the early and growing market leadership the company has established in power and energy industries.”

DroneDeploy has seen unparalleled growth in 2018 through the continued release of new features and developing strategic partnerships with SoftBank, Accenture, and The Climate Corporation. Most recently, they launched the industry’s only real-time mapping solution, Live Map, which stitches RGB and thermal imagery on the edge using iOS devices—providing instant insights on the job site. Their newly released enterprise cloud capabilities provide the management and security tools necessary to scale drone operations across large organizations. And DroneDeploy’s App Market now has more than 80 software integrations, making it the largest drone data ecosystem on the planet.

Martek Aviation has announced the official appointment of highly-acclaimed aviation expert Mark Wharry as their Head of Aviation. Mark brings over 20 years of unparalleled aviation experience to Martek, in both high-profile leadership and training roles.

The drone industry is booming and Martek is the driving force behind the most disruptive and talked about UAS technology that’s taking the market by storm! The appointment of Mark fulfils a crucial element of Martek’s strategy, which will help to cement them as world leaders in unmanned aerial services.

Mark began his flying career as a Qualified Flying Instructor with the RAF, training students going through the RAF’s Basic Fast Jet Training course. He was later selected to fly Tornado GR4 aircraft and flew his first front-line missions from RAF Lossiemouth. His time there took him on detachments across the world, including combat missions flown in Afghanistan.

Mark then volunteered to fly the MQ-9 Reaper and was sent to train alongside the US Air Force. Soon, his academic, technical and instructional knowledge resulted in his posting to the senior position of Officer Commanding Standards and Evaluation for the RAF MQ-9 Reaper force. He was the RAF’s most highly-qualified Reaper SME, working to develop safety, regulation and training standards. He was seconded to the Central Flying School, as its first-ever unmanned examiner and became the first OFI to reach an “A” grade qualification as a UAS instructor.

On leaving the RAF, Mark worked as an aviation consultant on projects ranging from examining Small Unmanned Air System pilots to designing training syllabi for nations procuring military RPAS. During this phase, he prided himself on being able to fly, instruct, examine and work with unmanned aircraft from 500g to 5000kgs! He has also advised governments on the development of UAS regulation, contributed to multi-million US dollar bids, and sat as a member of working groups into UAS standards for the British Standards Institute.

Mark has been a specialist in UAS at all levels, with a particular focus on training, safety and regulation, for almost a decade. His experience ranges from teaching air law to people with no aviation experience to advising on training and operations relating to the most complex systems in the world today.

“I am delighted to join Martek Aviation who are pioneering high-end UAS services at this exciting time for the unmanned industry. With a strong operational background and excellent safety and quality processes behind us, I look forward to building a professional team who can deliver best in world unmanned operations. As the sector continues to develop, we will be superbly placed to take advantage of the opportunities and become industry leaders; in service provision, operations, and training” says Mark.

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YouTube channel FliteTest has released a new video in which they design, build and test a real-life version of Thor’s famous hammer, Mjölnir. Thor is the chiselled Norse god of thunder as well as the star of more Marvel movies than you can shake a giant flying hammer at. Those familiar with his character will know […]

Researchers at Yale University have developed a UAV which uses nature-inspired robotic talons to “perch and rest” in places that would normally be inaccessible. The group, led by Kaiyu Hang, were looking to make drones that fly in a more energy efficient manner. They observed how birds and bats use structures to conserve their energy when […]

Today Kickstarter is hosting the launch of a new mind-controlled drone and headset. Chinese company EEGSmart have developed brain-machine interface (BMI) technology which they intend to market to the masses through their UDrone mini-quad and UMind Lite headset. A year ago we brought you a story about drones you can control with your mind on display […]

President Donald Trump’s administration has reversed an Obama era policy requiring US intelligence services to report the number of civilians killed by American drones. On March 6, Trump signed an executive order revoking the requirement for intelligence agencies to publicly announce the number of non-combatants killed by US drone strikes or other attacks on terrorist […]

Engineers who run a ‘drone hacking’ website say that software designed to prevent drones from flying near airports is very easy to bypass. Drone producers, such as Chinese giant DJI, produce UAVs with inbuilt geofencing software which creates ‘virtual walls’ stopping crafts from being able to enter restricted air space near airports or military bases. There […]

The world’s largest agricultural drone fleet is transforming the way farmers manage their crops. Through a collaboration with Corteva Agriscience™, Agriculture Division of DowDuPont, DroneDeploy’s advanced mapping software is powering Corteva Agriscience’s fleet of more than 400 DJI drones across the company’s global teams, including:

Spanning three continents, DroneDeploy’s Live Map technology provides Corteva Agriscience’s UAV fleet of DJI drones with immediate insights to diagnose and correct agronomic, disease, and pest concerns, as well as to suggest locations for optimal product placement.

Agriculture may be as old as civilization itself, but thanks to new technologies that make it easier to monitor crops and maximize yields, the industry remains on the cutting edge. In less than 15 minutes, advanced UAV technology can survey a 160-acre field to identify variations in plant soil and health, giving farmers direct access to real-time aerial views and data to help make informed agronomic decisions. The result is a full-scale drone operation that gives agronomists and contract seed growers the ability to make timely determinations that directly impact seed yields and quality.

DroneDeploy’s Live Map technology provides real-time crop insights that enable growers to take immediate agronomic actions in the field. Whether it’s identifying an area that lacks irrigation or a particular crop that’s sprouting better (or worse) than expected, agricultural UAVs enable farmers to course correct issues through powerful, data-driven insights. Once drone fleets are ready to be deployed to field teams, drone operators undergo training to determine how to harness the power of aerial technology and ensure that operations adhere to local aviation regulations.

Utilizing UAVs developed by DJI, the collaboration between Corteva Agriscience and DroneDeploy brings some of the world’s most powerful agriscience solutions together with the world’s leading commercial drones and commercial drone software. Corteva Agriscience’s portfolio of products includes some of the world’s most recognizable brands in agriculture, including Pioneer, Brevant seeds, and Encirca and Granular, as well as Crop Protection products developed through active chemistry and technology.

DJI, the world leader in commercial and civilian drones, makes up more than 70% of the drone market and offers a wide variety of UAV products across many different industries. Combined with DroneDeploy’s user-friendly platform for real-time sharable drone maps and 3D models, farmers and agronomists across the globe will be able to carry out data-driven actions to keep fields full, healthy, and ready for seasons to come.

Where to Learn MoreLearn more about the improvements to the DroneDeploy Map Engine.Explore the DroneDeploy App Market to see more than 80 apps you can use today to generate insights with drone data.eBook: Drones in Agriculture

Be sure to read our latest eBook, The Ultimate Guide to Drones on the Farm.

In our previous post, we discuss the many ways you can begin using drones to improve inspections in the oil and gas sector. In this post, we take a look at the impact drones have on operations—and why it’s time you should consider investing in a drone program.

Drones provide O&G companies many benefits, including cost savings, improved communication, a safer work environment, and more accurate data. Read on to explore the key ways drones can transform your workflows.

Inspecting O&G infrastructure and gathering critical data with drones cost substantially less than traditional inspection methods that require ground crews or manned flights. Drones are tough birds and can withstand harsh temperatures and other conditions. They get much closer to infrastructure than a helicopter or airplane, providing better visuals and data. Drones also minimize downtime by avoiding the need to shut down operations for inspections and by catching leaks and other maintenance issues early, lowering remediation costs.

Drones enable employees to conduct inspection and monitoring tasks without exposing themselves to the typical dangers of O&G operations. As a result, work hours lost due to injuries decline, medical expenses and insurance costs shrink, and the number of workplace events reported to OSHA and other regulatory agencies drop.

Safer Work Environments

Manual infrastructure inspections are often dangerous. For example, inspectors at wells and offshore rigs must climb up and down ladders and along catwalks — and even use cranes or harnesses and rappelling equipment to reach equipment. Inspectors sometimes must work in close proximity to harmful chemicals and dangerous machinery.

Drones perform inspections without risking employee safety. They’re particularly useful for inspections after blowouts or natural disasters — or when sending a ground crew to a site may be difficult, costly or unsafe.

Better, More Accurate Data

Drones provide a flexible platform for a wide range of cameras and sensors. They can collect data needed for situations requiring real-time solutions or store data for later analysis. Businesses can easily integrate digitized mapping information and other data from drone flights into analytical and AI solutions for advanced processing. For example, software solutions use topographical and geological data gathered by drones to create models that help identify promising oil and gas drill sites.

Not only do drones gather information more efficiently than human inspectors, the digital data enables employees to make better, data-driven decisions. This drastically reduces downtime, catches conflicts and issues faster, and helps keep your operation running like the well-oiled machine that it is.

Superior Communication

The remote nature of oil and gas work often requires operators to communicate with workers on sites around the world. This can present a challenge to managers and engineers working from the headquarters and collaborating with the boots on the ground. But drones can make things easier. Workers on the ground can fly drones on their site and upload the data to the cloud where back office managers can review and coordinate further inspection or follow ups — all without leaving the desk chair. Using software such as DroneDeploy makes it easy for the back office to markup maps or drop in annotations in real time so that inspectors can check on pressure points, leaks, or other potential issues.

Where to Learn More

The latest drone technology — like aerial mapping, thermal imaging, and digital terrain modeling — gives you a rich set of data to streamline your workflows and generate real-time insights.

A free guide to measuring stockpiles and gathering accurate inventory counts with UAVs.

Whether you work in the construction, mining, or aggregates sectors, stockpile management is a critical requirement on any job site. But measuring stockpiles can be unsafe, time-consuming, and expensive. This puts you in a difficult position. You need accurate data to run your business operations, but you shouldn’t have to send your survey team into the field for hours to clamber across stockpiles on a dangerous job site.

What if you could gather the same survey data in minutes from the safety of the ground, all while achieving higher accuracy and freeing up your survey team to focus on other high-priority projects? Sound too good to be true? Nope. Drones can help.

While you may be familiar with drone photography, drones are also a trusted tool for surveying and measurement. They eliminate many of the challenges companies face with traditional survey solutions. And drones paired with powerful photogrammetry software from DroneDeploy can help lower your data collection costs, increase accuracy, save you time, and keep your team out of harm’s way — all without having to hire an entire survey team or invest in expensive laser or lidar hardware.

“Everyone should be using drones for stockpile analysis. It’s miles ahead of standard surveying.” — Tecia White, President at Whitewater Hydrogeology Ltd.Read the full case study

Over the last 4 years, our team has worked with thousands of customers measuring stockpiles with drones. In that time, we’ve learned the techniques that produce highly-accurate results that our customers expect from DroneDeploy.

In our latest eBook, we take a deep dive into the stockpile measurement workflow using DroneDeploy—covering best practices and answers to the most frequently asked questions from our customers.

The best practices for flying, processing, and analyzing stockpiles with DroneDeployHow to get precise volume measurements and generate instant stockpile reportsHow to achieve high degrees of measurement accuracy and why it mattersThe most common app integrations for stockpile management used by DroneDeploy customersHow three innovative companies have used DroneDeploy’s stockpile measurement tools to cut costs, save time, and improve safety on their job sitesWhere to Learn More

Some of the largest oil and gas companies around the world now deploy unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), better known as drones, to address a wide variety of operational challenges. This rapidly improving technology, along with advances in big data and artificial intelligence, is poised to transform the O&G industry in the coming years.

The aerial intelligence provided by drones offers several key benefits, including safer inspections and helping companies comply with regulatory requirements — while saving them millions of dollars in labor, remediation, and other costs.

Drones are the perfect solution for conducting visual inspections of infrastructure and gathering extensive data. An increasing number of O&G companies use drones to perform three basic industry functions — pipeline inspection and monitoring, oil well and rig inspection, and surveying and construction monitoring — at a significantly lower cost than ground, manned aircraft or helicopter inspection crews.

Read on to learn more about the leading uses of drones in the oil and gas sector.

Pipeline Inspection and Monitoring

By taking photos and videos of above-ground pipelines, drones allow inspectors in the field or engineers in a remote location to view pipes, either in real time or later. The operator can zero in on areas of concern to gather additional information and, if necessary, recommend that a ground crew visually check the area.

By examining the vegetation index, inspectors can identify specific areas of concern with DroneDeploy, catching leaks before they spread. Read the case study.

To detect potential underground leaks, drones take photos along pipeline routes. User-friendly software from DroneDeploy combines these images, creating high-resolution vegetation maps that identify plant kill-off zones, which may indicate a leak. Equipping a drone with an infrared camera provides an additional way to inspect pipelines: Thermal imagery of pipeline routes reveal hotspots, which may indicate potential defects in pipeline insulation or leaks invisible to the human eye.

Drone images also detect anomalies along a pipeline network or any encroachments, such as construction or roadwork, on a right-of-way that could threaten the integrity of the pipeline. In case of significant leaks, explosions or other emergency situations, drones provide real-time video to help emergency response teams assess the situation before sending in crews.

An operator inspects an oil well using drone POV goggles, while remaining safely on the ground. Photo courtesy of Bruin E&P Partners.Oil Well and Rig Inspection

O&G companies also use drones to photograph oil wells and offshore rigs throughout the initial drilling process. Once the well is operating, drones efficiently monitor operations. For example, they provide a close-up look at a flare stack while it’s in service. That provides a real benefit to the traditional approach: shutting down the flare system and assigning an inspector to climb the stack to examine it. In this case, a drone inspection saves weeks of physical inspection preparation and avoids significant loss of productivity and revenue due to an operational shutdown.

This drone-generated 3D model of oil storage tanks replaced helicopter imagery and saved $3500 over a five-month period. Read the full case study.

Drone inspections help companies prevent health and safety events (HSE), allowing them to address operational issues without sending employees into dangerous zones. Drones also provide easy surveillance of remote or hard-to-reach assets, such as storage tanks.

Drones are taking on an expanding role in both the oil exploration and construction stages.2 They survey prospective drilling locations and gather key data without the time and expense of traditional surveying methods. Once a well site is ready for development, drones deployed during the construction stage of wells, rigs, pipelines and refineries conduct crucial as-built surveys, allowing managers to keep track of a project’s progress and provide quality assurance of the build-outs.

Construction compliance officers use drone photos to compare actual conditions to pre-construction designs, as well as to detect and correct plan defects and deviations and spot any potential safety issues. This information also helps streamline decision-making throughout the project. Companies can even create, document and share a visual timeline with all stakeholders. Once construction is finished, drones provide a digital 3-D representation of structures to use as a baseline reference.

This orthomosaic drone map shows construction progress taking place on a well site. Map courtesy of Bruin E&P Partners.

Drones provide extremely precise aerial intelligence that simplifies and improves a wide range of O&G processes. Whether inspecting hundreds of miles of oil pipelines for leaks, helping employees keep operations in compliance with regulations or enabling companies to construct infrastructure more efficiently, agile and flexible UAVs have quickly become a go-to tool for operators around the world.

Product Release Wrap-Up January 2019Kick off the New Year with improved accuracy and AI tools from DroneDeploy

Since launching the Projects interface last month, our team has been busy implementing a series of new features to improve your team’s productivity and overall map accuracy in 2019.

Read on to learn more about new automated flight settings, map alignment capabilities, Autodesk export options, and a suite of AI tools now available to DroneDeploy customers.

The Joy of aligned maps in action over the course of a project.Align Maps Over Time — Instantly.

Comparing maps over time is one of the most common uses of DroneDeploy. But comparing the same areas can be tricky if the maps don’t line up. Unfortunately, GPS accuracy varies and maps of the same location can shift anywhere between 5–10 meters without the use of ground control points (GCPs).

To overcome this problem, we built a new solution into our proprietary Map Engine to align new maps with those previously made at the same location. As an added benefit, the absolute accuracy and scale of a map made with GCPs will improve the accuracy of future maps in the same area — meaning you can map more often with less effort and still get great results.

Use map alignment in conjunction with the “Side-by-Side” app, to see how things have changed on your site.

Automatic Map Alignment is now available to all paying DroneDeploy customers.

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Filter and Sort Map Annotations

Have you ever had trouble finding the annotation or measurement that you’re looking for in a map with dozens or even hundreds of annotations? Or perhaps you’ve wanted to hide specific annotations and focus on those that are most important? New improvements to DroneDeploy annotations make both of these tasks possible.

Now you can view a list of all of the annotations on your map. You can then select or hide specific annotations, and you can even use the search and filter tools to look for specific annotations or annotation types.

Filter annotations by measurement type using the filter icon on the dashboard.Simplify GCP Tagging with Ground Control AI

For those times when absolute accuracy is required, efficient use of GCPs and checkpoints for mapping is extremely important. For the last six months, thanks to thousands of DroneDeploy customers tagging GCPs, we’ve trained our machine learning algorithms to automatically identify and geolocate the most popular types of GCP markers automatically.

Here are a few examples of the types of GCP markers that DroneDeploy can now detect and geolocate to save you time:

If some, or all of your GCPs are automatically identified, you’ll get a notification in the typical email workflow. You will notice that many of your GCPs are already tagged when you open the link.

Ground Control AI will continue to improve as you use it, and will learn from your corrections over time.

Once GCPs have been detected, you can finish selecting any additional GCPs that may be in the map.

Ground Control AI is now available to all Business and Enterprise customers.

Detect and Annotate Objects with Count AI

We launched our Counting tool last August. Since then, customers have annotated more than 360,000 objects. Uses include auditing solar panels, asset quantification, damage assessments, crop yield estimation, and more. With a significant amount of counting data under our belts, our team can now rapidly train our counting algorithms to detect and count custom objects for our enterprise customers.

Select an area and Count AI does the rest.

The first two object types we are supporting are cars and trees, but if your workflow requires counting any object series in your maps, sign up for our beta program today and contact your DroneDeploy Account Manager to learn more about this new feature.

Measuring stockpiles on construction sites, mines, and quarries is one of the most common use of DroneDeploy’s measurement tools. To speed up the stockpile measurement workflow, we developed our Stockpile AI assistant to annotate and measure stockpile volumes with a single click.

When you select the Stockpile AI icon, DroneDeploy will detect and highlight all stockpiles present on your map. You can then generate an instant volume measurement by selecting the stockpile you wish to measure. It’s that easy.

Once the volume annotation is created, it’s still possible to customize the stockpile boundary as you usually would. Keep in mind that like our other machine learning tools, your existing annotations and corrections power Stockpile AI — which will continue to improve the more you use it.

Stockpile AI is now available to all Enterprise customers.

Import Point Clouds from DroneDeploy to AutoDesk

Our construction customers have frequently asked to import drone-generated point clouds from DroneDeploy to AutoDesk Civil 3D, Revit, and Navisworks. We’re happy to announce this capability is now available in DroneDeploy.

To directly import your point cloud files to AutoDesk, choose the AutoDesk (.rcp) format when you export your next point cloud. The .rcp data will also include a .rcs point cloud as well. These new point cloud formats can be exported using all the local and custom coordinate systems we support for existing exports.